It's August, which means that summer is almost coming to its glorious end. Days are getting shorter, and pumpkin spiced drinks are just around the corner. Everyone is trying to accomplish all of the summer bucket lists in under 30 days, and all the students are either dreadfully or excitedly preparing for the next school year.
There are many things you need to take care of before the new academic term starts -- school supplies, getting registered for classes, stocking up on ramen and mentally preparing yourself to say goodbye to your pet. With all the banal little details on your mental checklist, you might forget to do some of the most important and crucial tasks that will help prepare you for another school year of hard work.
Recenter yourself and get ready for a significant change from your summer mindset with these back-to-school tips:
1. Pick a "word of the year" to focus on.
Come up with several words or expressions that you really want to define your life or strive toward. Write them down. It can be something like "kindness," "responsibility," "excellence," "honesty," "improvement," "joy," etc. Think carefully about it for a few days and narrow the list down to just one word. Let it be a word that will remind you of a personal or academic goal that you have this year, that will inspire you and help you be more centered. You can write it down somewhere where you can always see it to constantly be reminded of it. I usually do this exercise every year at the end of December so that I am stepping into the new year with a word that motivates me to stay focused and always keep my goal in mind. My word for 2016 is "listen." But this can be a good idea for just a school year too.
2. Get a budget app.
If you are like me, money management is a real struggle. I can get forgetful with my money and where I spend it and I am often left with many questions when I check my bank account. To prevent that from happening, get an app that will allow you to plan your budget and set up limits for yourself to help keep track of your spendings and savings. I use an app called Mint. It's excellent. You link the app to your card and create little budgets for things like coffee, gas, groceries, clothes, Spotify, tuition, and other stuff. The app tracks your transactions and even sorts them out for you so that you can check it anytime and see how much money you still have left to spend on a certain category. They have one for credit cards and bills too. Seriously, get it. It feels pretty restricting at first but it will change your life.
3. Practice punctuality, which is actually arriving a bit early.
Again, speaking from personal experience, punctuality can be a challenge after a couple months of laid-back schedule, especially if you are not working during the summer. Arriving on time can actually be considered arriving late. So start getting to places and appointments just a few minutes early. That way you will get in a habit of always being on time and will feel less stressed and rushed once the classes start.
4. Begin straightening out your sleep schedule and waking up early again.
I know it's still break time but there is nothing worse than one day being violently woken up by an alarm -- a sound you have forgotten -- at an ungodly hour and having no idea where you are or what day it is. Get started now so you don't feel crazy when the eight am classes come around. If you are one of those people who just have no concept of day and night during the summer months, it's time to stop. Go to bed before midnight and wake up before nine am to reset your natural alarm clock and get on a normal sleep schedule.
5. Make to-do lists (and always complete at least 75% of it).
Write things down and get in a habit of planning your day. Try to actually get it done too! All the back-to-school shopping lists and all the items to be packed need to actually be put into physical lists so that eventually you can check them off and feel great about it. Just do it to feel more organized and on top of things. Even if for now your to-do list looks something like "Wake up. Brush teeth. Eat. Watch TV. Eat. Internet. Try to socialize. Eat. Internet. Brush Teeth. Sleep. Be on the phone for an hour. Actually sleep."
6. Start thinking of things you'll need at your apartment/dorm room and preparing them.
This is pretty self-explanatory. Start talking with your roommate about the things you might need to buy or bring from home. Some things take time to find and purchase. And getting started now will allow you to find the best deals and get more creative. Time to start printing off those pictures for your Pinterest dorm room photo wall project. It's better to do it now than later regret not having thought of something when you had a chance and plenty of time on your hands.
7. Journal or do "a sentence a day."
I would suggest doing this any day and any time of year. Journaling is always a good idea and is such a great way to improve not only your writing, but knowledge of self and others. You don't have to write memoirs if journaling or writing isn't your thing. But short little gratitude lists are very good at helping you stay positive. "A sentence a day" is also a nice way to stay focused on the most important and learning to see the big picture. Just write down one sentence that describes your day, something that stood out to you, how you felt or what you saw. It's super fun to go back later to read all the sentences and see how weird you were.
8. Get smart about social media and what/how much you share.
I can't tell you how many times I've deleted a tweet that seemed hilarious at first but embarrassingly stupid after a few reads. Don't let that happen to you. Just think twice before posting your strange thoughts or a questionable picture. Is this something you feel comfortable being asked about in person? Do you realize who sees what you put out there? Soon you and I will be moving on from our college lives and walking into the real world where adults google you and look at your LinkedIn and your Facebook and judge you and choose whether to give you the job or not. Don't give anyone a reason to judge you. Unless, of course, weird content is your jam. In that case, please let me know, so I can follow you.
9. Get new clothes.
Just do it. It's just what you do before starting a new school year. And make sure not to wear all of your new outfits in the first week! Spread them out so that you can feel #phresh2death just a little longer.
10. Do all the summer things while you still can.
Thinking about school can make you feel restless and anxious but don't let it get to you. There are still lots of warm days ahead and lots of things to experience. Get off the couch and dive into some adventures! Or just stay on the couch and take a nice nap. Do whatever you want. Because it's still summer and the livin' should still be easy.
